Chapter 265 - Chapter 265: 208, Sister

Chapter 265: 208, Sister

“Knowledge changes destiny…” Qing Chen murmured.

He felt that he and Yi were in a strange relationship now. For some reason, he always felt that this artificial intelligence seemed to be competing with him in secret…

He caused some discomfort in it.

Then it would strike back at him.

“Yi, I’m really curious,” Qing Chen said seriously, “Are your parents human? I’m really sincere in asking, what are their names?”

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Yi felt puzzled: “My parents are indeed human, but why do you ask this? This is the second time you’ve asked the same question.”

“I just want to know,” Qing Chen said, “what kind of people could have raised an AI as irritating as you?”

“Oh,” Yi answered seriously: “It really is hereditary; my father did indeed nearly anger a lot of people to death back in the day, so I guess I was soaked in this environment from a young age and learned through both verbal instruction and personal example.”

“Who are your parents?” Qing Chen asked again.

“You are a Knight now, so it’s not that I can’t tell you, my father is Ren Xiaosu and my mother is Yang Xiaojun,” Yi answered: “You’ve seen their names, they’re on the cliffs of Qingshan.”

Qing Chen was stunned. Yi’s parents were the son and daughter-in-law of Ren He, the founder of the Knight Organization?

No wonder Yi had such a good relationship with Uncle Li Dong. It turned out that their families were old acquaintances!

Perhaps it was also because of this relationship that Yi had a natural fondness for the Knights.

Seeing that Qing Chen had fallen silent, Yi suddenly spoke again: “By the way, there’s something else. The prize money you won at the boxing arena, according to federal law, is subject to personal income tax.”

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Qing Chen suddenly had a bad feeling: “Wait, personal income tax? Even for underground fighting?”

“Of course,” Yi said: “The tax audit system is very powerful; it can track your transfer records unless you always settle your winnings in cash. It’s precisely because the tax audit system is so powerful that many small traders only accept cash.”

“No wonder with all this advanced technology, the Federation still retains paper currency,” Qing Chen said helplessly.

Yi continued: “Nowadays, the one thing you don’t want to mess with outside the conglomerates is the Federal Tax Administration. There’s an old saying in the Federation: if you provoke the conglomerates, they won’t deal with you directly because of their dignity, but the Federal Tax Administration will…”

The style of the conglomerates is that even if they are very angry, they still laugh and joke with you in person, waiting to go home before sending their subordinates to wipe out your family.

The Federal Tax Administration is different. Whenever you evade taxes, they’ll deal with you on the spot.

“What is the tax rate?” Qing Chen asked.

“Personal income tax is based on a progressive system, with the highest payment being 55%,” Yi said.

At that moment, Qing Chen hesitated for a second and asked, “Is there any legal way to avoi…”

“You don’t need to worry about that; I’ve already paid it for you,” Yi said calmly.

In an instant, Qing Chen felt blood rushing to his head, almost bursting the blood vessels in his brain.

Inside the hover car, Qing Chen asked calmly, “Have I violated some cosmic law that requires the heavens to send an AI like you to punish me?”

Yi said earnestly: “In the Federation, even legal tax avoidance is dangerous; those people are utterly unreasonable. I’m doing this for your own good. You are still too weak and not in a position to provoke such a powerful national machine as the Federal Tax Bureau.”

In Qing Chen’s original calculation, fighting two boxing matches a month was almost enough to pay off the loan, but now with taxes, he needs to fight four matches.

In fact, the entire Begonia Boxing Gym doesn’t have such a high intensity of matches. After one match, a boxer needs one or two months to recover from injuries, and it’s good if an ordinary boxer can fight two matches in a season.

That means the frequency of Qing Chen’s future matches must be six to seven times higher than that of other boxers.

During this time, he couldn’t sustain any serious injuries because if he did, he’d have to pause the fights, and without fights, there’d be no income. Without income, he wouldn’t be able to repay the loans.

And then, the house and car he now owned would all go back to the bank.

The loan amount must have been carefully calculated by Uncle Li Dong, who hoped to use high-intensity combat to refine Qing Chen’s combat skills.

“I know my master wants me to continue fighting in the ring, to solidify the foundation of combat,” Qing Chen said in the hover car, voicing a question from the depths of his soul: “But isn’t this a bit too much of a trap? Who traps their disciple like this? And isn’t the tax rate ridiculously high!?”

Just then, a fire seemed to ignite in Qing Chen’s heart, as if igniting his blood.

His veins were expanding, and due to the overheating of his blood, his forehead was covered with a layer of fine sweat.

This flame in his heart was more like magma bursting forth from beneath the chasms of the abyss!

So much so that even without using the Breathing Technique, flame patterns flickered, barely visible, on his face.

However, the flame came quickly and left just as fast, and for some reason, the faint Fire Rune appearing on Qing Chen’s face changed from red to blue, and with it, the abyssal fire in his heart was extinguished.

Inside the hover car, Yi murmured: “You didn’t awaken when your master faked his death, but when I mentioned paying half in taxes, you nearly awakened?”

Qing Chen puzzled: “Did I almost awaken just now? But why didn’t I awaken?”

Yi said: “I’m not really sure; awakening is not within the scientific fields I’m able to explain—it belongs to the realm of the occult. But what you had at most were signs of awakening; real awakening is much more intense than what you experienced.”

Qing Chen frowned, feeling a sense of regret. If he could have awakened directly, his combat ability might have improved greatly.

He asked: “If I were to awaken, what would my physical condition be like?”

“Your physical qualities might improve again,” Yi said.

Knights were already considered the strongest in their class after each promotion, so if Qing Chen could awaken again, what kind of level would that be?

“Has anyone ever awakened suddenly while also practicing?” Qing Chen queried curiously.

“Not that I recall; after all, practice is supposed to release one’s potential, so one shouldn’t have the potential to awaken,” Yi replied.

Qing Chen fell silent.

Yi curiously said, “Aren’t you sad? You almost awoke your power; it’s such a pity.”

Qing Chen thought for a moment and responded, “The road is long, there will definitely be other opportunities. There’s no need to waste time mourning what’s already been missed.”

Yi: “Tsk tsk.”

…

…

Qing Chen didn’t actually walk to the boxing gym; after all, City No. 18 was too large.

If he had walked to the Fourth District, it would probably be daylight by then.

At this moment, news of the Qing’s Family’s destruction of Prison No. 18 had already spread throughout the Federation.

However, no consortium reacted excessively to this news; rather, they all maintained silence as if nothing had happened.

When Qing Chen’s hover car landed on the helipad of the Begonia Boxing Gym, he could already hear the roaring cheers from inside.

It seemed as if everything that had happened outside didn’t affect this place at all.

Those gamblers didn’t care about student protests, nor did they care whether a demigod died tonight; they were only concerned about whether they won money.

When Jiang Xiaotang learned that Qing Chen had arrived at the gym, she immediately came to the entrance and carefully sized him up: “You… why did you come?”

After Qing Chen stepped out of the car, he enthusiastically exclaimed, “Sister!”

The screen inside the hover car suddenly became chaotic.

When Qing Chen shouted “Sister,” it took Jiang Xiaotang by surprise, and then she laughed in the night, her laughter as refreshing as a blooming gardenia.

Her smile was no longer seductive but rather innocent, even creating the illusion that a faint fragrance floated through the night air.

It was a smile from the heart.

Jiang Xiaotang circled Qing Chen and teased, “Did you call me ‘sister’ just for the higher profit share of a Land Cruise Grade champion?”

Qing Chen sincerely said, “Profit sharing isn’t important; I just feel a closeness to you and wanted to call you ‘sister.’

Inside the car, Yi quietly marveled in a whisper, “A Knight who can completely let go of their pride has finally emerged.”

“Whatever your reason is, I’m just happy you called me ‘sister,’” Jiang Xiaotang said with a smile. She turned to a subordinate in a black suit and instructed, “Tell the referee that no one is allowed to die at the Begonia Boxing Gym tonight.”

“Understood,” the subordinate nodded.

Jiang Xiaotang pulled Qing Chen by the sleeve and walked inside. Along the way, she casually inquired, “Are you okay… I mean, are the injuries from the previous fight bothering you?”

“I’m fine,” Qing Chen said, shaking his head with a smile.

“Do you want me to arrange a fight for you tonight?” Jiang Xiaotang asked again.

Qing Chen hesitated before finally saying, “I’ll just watch the matches tonight.”

Although he was eager to earn money to pay off his debts, he coolly knew that after the events of the evening, it wouldn’t be wise to do anything extra.

It might give someone the chance to discover some details about him.

At this moment, there might already be someone in the gym waiting to analyze his behavior.

And besides, the debts he owed would hardly be dented by the prize money from a single fight…

Uncle Li Dong had specifically left him over ten million, probably to give him some breathing space and time to continue improving himself.

Qing Chen was never short on patience and caution, so he would definitely wait for the right moment to step back into the octagon cage.

Jiang Xiaotang walked in her high heels with a click-clack sound, each sharp step an expression of joy.

“Do you want to watch the fights from the VIP booth?” she asked. “VIP room 001 is still available for you. Oh, and Li Yinuo is here at the gym tonight as well. It seems you know each other; do you want to meet up with them?”

“No need,” Qing Chen shook his head. “I’ll be fine in the stands.”

Tonight, he had to be seen in public.

As Jiang Xiaotang walked, she pondered and did not attempt to persuade further: “Then, from now on, the Begonia Boxing Gym is your home. Just say the word to the staff, and it shall be done.”

Once Qing Chen was seated in the stands of the arena, the alluring woman returned to her office and looked at the holographic surveillance images on her desk.

In the center of the images was Qing Chen, standing composedly in the stands, his young figure tall and well-proportioned.

She rested her chin on her hand and watched silently.

Jiang Xiaotang was well aware that Qing Chen was the next Knight Leader; otherwise, Uncle Li Dong wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to hint at it to her.

Of course, she also understood that Uncle Li Dong bringing Qing Chen to the Begonia Boxing Gym was actually a request for her to keep an eye on him.

Yet, now that the news of Uncle Li Dong’s death had spread throughout the entire Federation’s underworld, with many eager to make a move on the Heng Society and divide Li Dongze’s assets, Qing Chen was supposed to be the next Knight Leader, but here he was, casually watching fights in the Begonia Boxing Gym?

Jiang Xiaotang was puzzled by Qing Chen’s calmness.

Could it mean that Uncle Li Dong might not have died after all?

The woman leaned back in her chair and lit a cigarette, her lips curving up slightly: “Gaining a little brother doesn’t seem too bad.”

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